Obasanjo makes case for NOUN Law graduates

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has appealed to the Council for Legal Education, (CLE) to reconsider its decision not to admit law graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria, (NOUN).

Obasanjo also called on the federal government to review its stance and reconsider the requests of graduates of the institution, who were under 30 years of age to embark on compulsory National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) programme.

The former President, who made the plea while delivering the maiden lecture of the Olusegun Obasanjo Good Governance and Development Research Centre in Abuja, noted that continuous denials of their requests would shut that critical segment of the nation’s education sub-sector of their right of inclusion.

The NOUN management and the legal council have been at loggerheads over the latter’s policy of not admitting its graduates into law school on account of the mode of lecture delivery of the institution, which is virtual in nature.

But in defending the university, Obasanjo, who resuscitated NOUN during his second coming as the country’s democratically elected President in 2001 said it was intended to give a second chance to people, who have missed the opportunity to be educated.

In the lecture titled, “Leadership, governance and the challenges of development in Nigeria: The way forward” Obasanjo explained that his decision was premised on the role of education as a catalyst for national development.

Besides, he added that education remains the pillar of good leadership and governance and most important instrument of development.

Obasanjo, who is a doctoral student of the institution, argued that the idea of Open and Distant Learning (ODL) was a follow up to his various educational policies to make education affordable and accessible to disadvantaged population.

He said NOUN has grown to be the largest university in the country and “I have equally demonstrated that there is no age limit to education and personal development by age, status or position as I am currently doing my PhD degree at NOUN.”